The Ordinary Business®️ Podcast | Solopreneur Business Growth and Lifestyle Business Strategies

Jess Freeman | Founder of the Ordinary Business®️ Network for Solopreneurs
  • 5.0 (26)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Are you a solopreneur who wants business growth without sacrificing the lifestyle business you actually wanted? Have you ever wondered if growing your business really has to mean building a team, workingmore hours or chasing someone else's version of success? What if staying small was the strategy, not the stepping stone? If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. The Ordinary Business Podcast is for experienced business owners who want to build profitable businesses that support their live — not businesses their lives have to revolve around.

  1. 2d ago

    How Handling Burnout Made Aneisha's Solopreneur Business Better

    Ever wondered if “business growth” could mean something other than longer hours, bigger teams, and endless to-do lists? In this episode, I sit down with bookkeeping strategist Aneisha (https://www.yellowskybusiness.services/) for a brutally honest chat on burnout, business boundaries, and what it really looks like to build a profitable solopreneur business that puts sanity first. Yep, even lifestyle entrepreneurs get fried—so if you’ve ever wanted to hit pause (or just hit snooze for an extra hour), you’re definitely among your people. We tackle the messy stuff: signs of burnout you’re probably ignoring, how Aneisha ditched her people-heavy career and reimagined her service business for actual work life balance, and why client acquisition doesn’t have to mean sacrificing every free hour. If you’re tired of hustle culture and want a flexible business that fits your brain (especially if you’re neurodivergent or just plain human), this one’s for you. Spoiler: Anisha is not here for endless growth—she’s all about recovery, saying no, and business freedom on her own terms. → Learn more about The Ordinary Business Network: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theordinarybusiness.com → Enjoy this episode? Buy me a coffee: ⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/ordinarybusiness⁠ → Peek inside the Nosy Nelly Files: ⁠https://theordinarybusiness.com/nosy⁠ Key Takeaways Recognize burnout early by noticing unexpected irritability or that “why do people exist?” mood. Build your business systems around your real needs—even if that means fewer clients or shorter projects. Give yourself permission to grow slowly (or not at all) and set boundaries that protect your energy and your income. Are you a solopreneur who wants business growth without sacrificing the lifestyle business you actually wanted? Have you ever wondered if growing your business really has to mean building a team, working more hours or chasing someone else's version of success? What if staying small was the strategy, not the stepping stone? If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. Subscribe and follow!

  2. Sep 29

    How Human Design Snuck into Caitlan's Therapy Business

    On this episode, Caitlan is letting you in on her favorite rebel business tactic: coloring outside the lines in business. If you’ve ever worried that your unconventional ideas make you “too much” for your industry, or if you’re tired of playing it safe just so you fit in with the cool kids (aka, the “should” police), this one’s for you. Caitlan shares about what happened when she brought Human Design into therapy, how a blizzard in Reykjavík could teach you about business, and why the best ideas usually come in the middle of the night when you’re delirious from parenthood and sleep deprivation. → Learn more about The Ordinary Business: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theordinarybusiness.com → Enjoy this episode? Buy me a coffee: ⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/ordinarybusiness⁠ → Peek inside the Nosy Nelly Files: ⁠https://theordinarybusiness.com/nosy⁠ Key Takeaways: Check in with yourself before chasing new ideas—if it feels like a “should,” it probably isn’t your thing. Give yourself permission to take small, brave steps outside the lines (fear’s normal, but so is finding your people on the other side). Take it one step at a time. She tested Human Design with clients who asked for it long before she talked about it publicly. Are you a solopreneur who wants business growth without sacrificing the lifestyle business you actually wanted? Have you ever wondered if growing your business really has to mean building a team, working more hours or chasing someone else's version of success? What if staying small was the strategy, not the stepping stone? If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. Subscribe and follow!

  3. Sep 22

    How Sara Royf Uses Free Audits to Get Warm Leads as a Solopreneur

    Ever felt allergic to those gimmicky "freebie" PDFs floating around the internet? (Yeah, me too.) In this episode, Sara Royf (https://www.sararoyf.com/) shares how she used free LinkedIn profile audits to grow her email list and get more clients, starting before she'd even quit her full-time job. Sara recorded 5 to 10 minute audits after work and posted the offer in local Facebook groups. About 100 audits in, a call with a local marketing whiz pushed her toward LinkedIn consulting, and people started asking her to just fix their profiles for them, which became her first paid service. Three years and 344 audits later, 12 people have bought directly and plenty more have referred her. She explains why a 3 to 4% conversion rate doesn't bother her and how to be helpful without giving away the farm. She also covers how she handed the audits to her client lead so the strategy keeps running while she's busy with client work. If you'd rather do the work after someone signs up than build a freebie that ends up in the digital graveyard, this one's for you. Want to see it in action? Request your own free LinkedIn profile audit: sararoyf.com/audit → Learn more about The Ordinary Business: https://www.theordinarybusiness.com → Enjoy this episode? Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ordinarybusiness → Peek inside the Nosy Nelly Files: https://theordinarybusiness.com/nosy Key Takeaways Free audits grow your list because people get personal feedback on their own stuff, which no PDF can give them.Most people who get an audit won't buy. Sara made peace with that early, because the visibility and referrals more than make up for it.Keep each audit to 5 to 10 minutes with a simple format (a compliment, three opportunities, an invitation to talk) so the strategy doesn't eat your evenings.

  4. Sep 15

    Tracking What Matters: Small Business Systems for DIY Marketing with Tayler Hollman

    Ever sat there staring at your long to-do list, wondering why every “simple” marketing idea somehow multiplies like dirty laundry? I feel you. In this episode, I get real with Tayler—ordinary business owner, Enji co-founder (https://www.enji.co/), and black coffee enthusiast—about why having piles of good marketing ideas means nothing if you never actually do them. This chat dives into what it’s actually like to run your marketing by yourself, with messy weeks and half-finished projects front and center. Tayloer shares how Enji was built for regular business owners—yes, your people!—who want project management tools that help you plan, actually finish, and track your marketing (instead of collecting dust in yet another app you forget about). Whether you’re sick of Instagram, want to fire half your software, or keep asking, “Is this even working?”—this one’s for you. → Learn more about The Ordinary Business: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theordinarybusiness.com→ Enjoy this episode? Buy me a coffee: ⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/ordinarybusiness⁠→ Peek inside the Nosy Nelly Files: ⁠https://theordinarybusiness.com/nosy⁠ Key Takeaways: Give your future self a break by actually documenting your marketing plan and tracking what works (and what’s a time suck). Stop letting the “shoulds” and internet pressure call the shots—cut the stuff not working, even if you like it (RIP, side podcast). Leverage ordinary project management (color-coding, scheduling, real notes!) to keep your marketing from devolving into chaos. Are you a solopreneur who wants business growth without sacrificing the lifestyle business you actually wanted? Have you ever wondered if growing your business really has to mean building a team, working more hours or chasing someone else's version of success? What if staying small was the strategy, not the stepping stone? If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. Subscribe and follow!

  5. Sep 8

    Work Life Balance for Solopreneurs: Taking Extended Time Off Without Losing Clients

    Ever blinked and come back to 212 unread emails? Same. This group chat episode is about taking real time off, whether you call it a sabbatical, a vacation, or just ignoring Slack from your couch. If you've wondered how other solopreneurs actually build work life balance into their business without tanking their income, pull up a chair. This chat with Michelle (https://www.michellepontvert.com/), Rebecca (https://rebeccastanisic.com/), and Amanda (https://chaoscoordinationllc.com/) gets into the nitty gritty of planning real time away—batching content, prepping clients, and squashing the guilt that comes the minute you finally close your laptop. If you’re craving permission to step back—without some million-dollar-flex pressure—this is your episode. → Learn more about The Ordinary Business: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theordinarybusiness.com→ Enjoy this episode? Buy me a coffee: ⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/ordinarybusiness⁠→ Peek inside the Nosy Nelly Files: ⁠https://theordinarybusiness.com/nosy⁠ Key Takeaways Prep for time off by communicating early and batching work, even if it means things look wild before vacation. Trust that income can ebb and flow, and sometimes building a buffer (or letting go of FOMO) is what keeps you sane. Rehearse taking planned breaks. When life forces unexpected time off, your clients and your budget will already know how to handle it. Are you a solopreneur who wants business growth without sacrificing the lifestyle business you actually wanted? Have you ever wondered if growing your business really has to mean building a team, working more hours or chasing someone else's version of success? What if staying small was the strategy, not the stepping stone? If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. Subscribe and follow!

  6. Sep 1

    Social KPIs: A Work Life Balance System for Entrepreneurs with Samantha MacKinnon

    Ever noticed your business decisions getting foggier the longer you go without seeing another adult? Samantha MacKinnon (https://samanthamackinnon.com/) did. After her first son was born, she was hitting her deadlines and taking care of clients, but she felt flat, less confident, and unlike herself. So she did what a former construction project manager would do: she treated her social life as load-bearing and started tracking it. In this episode, Samantha explains how she built a "social quota" into each quarter, with a book club, a dinner with a university friend, a weekly choir, family time on the boat, and one or two carefully chosen networking events a year. Her rule is that if it's not tracked, it's not real, but the system has to flex or it breaks. A missed quarter doesn't mean the whole plan failed. She also talks about planning around childcare, dropping the guilt, and why introverts should skip the quota and find whatever makes them feel like themselves. If you're an entrepreneur looking for a version of work life balance you can actually measure, this one's for you. → Learn more about The Ordinary Business: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theordinarybusiness.com→ Enjoy this episode? Buy me a coffee: ⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/ordinarybusiness⁠→ Peek inside the Nosy Nelly Files: ⁠https://theordinarybusiness.com/nosy⁠ Key Takeaways Put your social life on the calendar the way you schedule client work, because if it isn't recurring, it probably isn't happening.Build in flex. If you miss the quarterly dinner, pick it back up next quarter instead of scrapping the whole system.Start with one recurring plan, like a monthly happy hour or a quarterly coffee with a business friend, and build from there. Are you a solopreneur who wants business growth without sacrificing the lifestyle business you actually wanted? Have you ever wondered if growing your business really has to mean building a team, working more hours or chasing someone else's version of success? What if staying small was the strategy, not the stepping stone? If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. Subscribe and follow!

  7. Aug 25

    Marketing Without Social Media Trends with Erin Perkins

    Ever feel like everyone else is nailing viral reels while you're just trying to get your inbox under control? Erin Perkins (https://www.mabelyq.com/), accessibility educator, founder of Mabely Q, and creator of the accessibility assistant Tactile, has been in business for 8 years without doing a single dance video or trending audio clip. She takes over the mic this week to talk about marketing without social media trends. Erin tells the story of a sales team that pushed her in 2025 to start doing trend-driven reels, and why she said no, even though it worked for other creators. She shares the two questions she asks before trying any marketing tactic: do you have the capacity for it, and are you doing it because you want to or because you feel you have to? She also talks about burning out two years ago from doing marketing she hated, and what's working now that her business has shifted from services to tech. Hint: Instagram isn't working for her, Threads is sort of working, and joining communities and actually talking to people is working best. If you'd rather build relationships than learn a new trend every week, this one's for you. → Learn more about The Ordinary Business: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theordinarybusiness.com→ Enjoy this episode? Buy me a coffee: ⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/ordinarybusiness⁠→ Peek inside the Nosy Nelly Files: ⁠https://theordinarybusiness.com/nosy⁠ Key Takeaways Before you try a trend, ask whether you have the capacity for it and whether you want to do it or just feel pressured to.If you hate a marketing tactic, you won't keep it up. Forcing it leads to burnout or resentment.What works changes as your business changes. Erin's best channel right now is showing up in communities, which is different from what worked when she was a service business. Are you a solopreneur who wants business growth without sacrificing the lifestyle business you actually wanted? Have you ever wondered if growing your business really has to mean building a team, working more hours or chasing someone else's version of success? What if staying small was the strategy, not the stepping stone? If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. Subscribe and follow!

  8. Aug 18

    Business Freedom in 2.5 Days a Week: Adam Schaeuble's AI-Free Business

    Ever wanted to break up with your email funnels, or wondered what would happen if you swore off AI and only worked a few days a week? Adam Schaeuble (https://www.podcastingbusiness.school/), host of Podcasting Business School, takes over the mic to explain how he does both. He has no ChatGPT, no Claude, and he works about 2.5 days a week. Adam once owned a gym with 500+ clients and 30+ employees, and he worked himself into the hospital three times. Now he tracks one KPI above all others: how many days he doesn't work each year. He talks about why he keeps AI out of his creative work, what 800 pages of Abraham Lincoln's letters taught him about writing, and his minimum effective dose approach: one podcast, one newsletter, and one social platform (Threads). He also shares what happened when he deleted every email funnel and all but one lead magnet and made his weekly newsletter the opt-in. His list doubled from 2,000 to 4,000, with a 68% open rate. If business freedom sounds better to you than a bigger number to announce at a mastermind, this one's for you. → Learn more about The Ordinary Business: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theordinarybusiness.com→ Enjoy this episode? Buy me a coffee: ⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/ordinarybusiness⁠→ Peek inside the Nosy Nelly Files: ⁠https://theordinarybusiness.com/nosy⁠ Key Takeaways Set time-based goals alongside income goals. Adam's best income years have been the ones where he took 180 to 200 days off.People who opt in for a lead magnet want the freebie, not your emails. When your newsletter is the opt-in, people join because they actually want to hear from you.Now that so much content sounds AI-generated, writing in your own voice is what makes you stand out. Are you a solopreneur who wants business growth without sacrificing the lifestyle business you actually wanted? Have you ever wondered if growing your business really has to mean building a team, working more hours or chasing someone else's version of success? What if staying small was the strategy, not the stepping stone? If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. Subscribe and follow!

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Are you a solopreneur who wants business growth without sacrificing the lifestyle business you actually wanted? Have you ever wondered if growing your business really has to mean building a team, workingmore hours or chasing someone else's version of success? What if staying small was the strategy, not the stepping stone? If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. The Ordinary Business Podcast is for experienced business owners who want to build profitable businesses that support their live — not businesses their lives have to revolve around.

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